PS4 AKA The Orbis Dev Kits Revealed

-Marcus Lawrence

*Note: That is not the Orbis, just a concept mock

As of today, newer versions of the Orbis dev kits are being shipped out to developers. A final version is expected to reach developers sometime next year, according to reports. VG247 stated that multiple sources confirm the Orbis kits being shipped out to developers with Blu-ray support and housed inside normal PC cases.

This dev kit is the second edition to be sent out; the first was released earlier this year. While the first kit was basically a graphics card, the newer kit is now a “modified PC”. The report states the next update will arrive in January (which should contain the final specs) and developers should see the final version next summer.

It would appear that the shipping of the Orbis kit is thanks to the number of meetings Sony had in the US this week. During these meetings, the company talked about what the product is designed to do and how it can best be utilized. A fun fact about these meetings would be how the name “PlayStation 4” was never used; only “Orbis”. Does this mean Sony plans to drop the signature “PlayStation” name? Time will tell.

The current dev kits are based on the AMD’s A10 APU series and come with an 8GB or 16GB of ram. The kits also come with the Blu-ray drive intact as mentioned before and a 256BG hard drive. This ensures that the console will be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D.

The kits also come equipped with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity; plus HDMI ports. Yes, this is pretty much the same set up you would see on a current PS3 console but this is a big difference here. The UI has been designed to be much more fluid and to allow extensive navigation at any point by hitting the PS button…even mid-game! How do we know it works though? The UI’s capabilities were shown to a group of people by purchasing DLC from the PlayStation Store without even leaving the game.

As of this moment, no word on the Orbis’ controller design has been leaked but IGN has reached out to Sony, only to find out the company “doesn’t comment on rumour and speculation.”